Aspects of the present invention relate generally to thermoelectric elements, modules and devices. Further aspects relate to methods for cooling of devices by thermoelectric elements as well as methods for generating electrical energy by thermoelectric elements.
Thermoelectric devices for cooling are e.g. used to transfer excess heat from electronic devices. As many electronic devices have low power dissipation, additional cooling means are desired. Thermoelectric cooling was first discovered by John Charles Peltier who observed that a current flowing through a junction between dissimilar conductors, such as n- or p-type semiconductors, can induce heat or cooling as a function of the current flow through the junction. This effect is called the Peltier- or thermoelectric effect. The temperature can be increased or lowered depending on the current direction through the junction.
Thermoelectric devices are often used as heat pumps placed between a heat source and a heat sink. The heat source can be an electric component and the heat sink sometimes is a surface plate or a convection heat sink. Conventional thermoelectric cooling devices use multiple stages to stepwise cool down an object or transfer heat away from a heat source. Such multi-stage modules mainly consist of separate thermoelectric modules stacked on top of each other. This leads to additional space requirements and an increase in expenditure due to the plurality and complexity of thermoelectric components involved.
Achieving high cooling power in a solid state devices remains a challenge for various applications such as quantum computing, sensing and heat management on chips.
Other applications of thermoelectric devices include the generation of electrical energy from differences in environment temperature, e.g. for the autarkic power supply of devices.
Hence it is generally desirable to increase the efficiency of thermoelectric devices.